Lead Talent Acquisition Partner

Location: Downtown Toronto (In-office / Hybrid) Employment Type: Full-time The Opportunity We have partnering with a well-capitalized, high-growth B2B data infrastructure startup backed by top-tier venture capital. They are building a massive-scale data ingestion and storage platform for enterprise clients. Currently operating with a highly elite, lean engineering team, they are processing multi-terabyte workloads daily and are architecting for petabyte scale. They are now looking for their first dedicated, in-house Technical Recruiter to build the talent function from the ground up and protect their exceptionally high hiring bar as they scale. The Role Reporting directly to the CEO and partnering closely with the CTO, you will own the technical hiring engine. This is a high-impact, individual contributor role for a senior recruiter who operates like a builder. There is no coordination layer beneath you—you will run the full desk from outbound sourcing to complex equity closes. Your primary focus will be recruiting Staff and Senior-level engineers who specialize in distributed systems, heavy data platforms, and streaming architectures. Core Responsibilities End-to-End Execution: Own the full recruitment lifecycle for all engineering and technical roles. You will source, screen, schedule, and close top-tier talent in the highly competitive Toronto market. Protect the Bar: Act as the gatekeeper for talent density. Work with technical leadership to calibrate requirements, design rigorous interview loops, and facilitate debriefs that ensure consistent, high-quality hiring decisions. Build the Engine: Implement and own the underlying recruiting infrastructure (ATS management, metric tracking, pipeline forecasting). You will treat hiring as a highly instrumented system, tracking pass-through rates, time-to-hire, and interviewer load. Strategic Sourcing: Build a comprehensive, warm network of Toronto’s best backend and data engineers. Craft highly personalized, compelling outbound messaging that reflects the company's engineering caliber. Close Complex Offers: Navigate competitive offer situations and clearly articulate the value of early-stage equity to senior candidates. Requirements What We’re Looking For Startup DNA: 5+ years of in-house technical recruiting experience, with a significant portion spent in early-stage, high-growth startup environments. Technical Fluency: You can easily differentiate between someone who just uses data tools and someone who genuinely builds large-scale distributed systems. You can hold credible, engaging conversations with Staff-level engineers. Proven Closer: A documented track record of winning top-tier engineering talent away from competing offers in competitive tech hubs. You are highly fluent in startup equity mechanics. Metrics-Driven: You run your pipeline like a sales funnel. You know your conversion numbers and build predictable hiring forecasts. Autonomous & Scrappy: You are comfortable working without a massive recruiting ops team behind you. You leverage AI and modern tooling in your workflow to automate administration and maximize your strategic time. Local Network: A strong existing network within the Toronto tech and engineering ecosystem. Benefits Work Environment & Benefits Total Rewards: Strong base salary paired with meaningful equity. Comprehensive Benefits: Top-tier health/dental, flexible spending accounts for wellness and professional development, a new MacBook setup, and 4 weeks of paid vacation.